The Metro Board’s Planning Committee today voted to authorize Metro to enter into a funding agreement with the city of Los Angeles to undertake pre-design activities, prepare an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and conduct public engagement for a potential Arts District/6th Street Station for an amount of $500,000.

The full Metro Board will now consider the item at their meeting on June 28. Here’s the staff report.

In plain English, the city of L.A. is picking up the tab for the study. It’s important to note that:

•The study is contingent upon the city actually appropriating the funds, and;

•Additional funding resources would need to found to actually build the station, which is not currently included in Metro’s Long Range Transportation Plan or Measure M.

For those new to this issue: the Red/Purple Line subway yard is in the Arts District, adjacent to the L.A. River. Advocates are calling for extending service beyond Union Station — the current end-of-the-line — to a station next to the rail yard.

Finding room for a station in a busy rail yard is not easy although Metro has been studying it. Please see this post for more about that.